If you are a future home, condo, or townhome buyer in North Vancouver and just starting the process, it’s important that you take a quick minute to become familiar with the current market conditions taking place. Many potential buyers are out there on their own looking to find that perfect home, only to be extremely disappointed when they finally find the perfect place and are not prepared when offers are accepted. With the majority of homes sales having multiple offer situations last year, if you haven’t been out there looking yet, you may not know what to expect when it comes to making an offer. In North Vancouver it has been especially important to have a realtor navigate you through the process. It costs the buyer nothing for this peace of mind and ultimately a whole lot of stress and disappointment can be taken out of the equation. Typically new listings in North Vancouver are going on the market early in the week. As agents we often will list a property early on during the week, followed by the “agents open”. The weekend will host the public open houses, with offers being accepted on the Sunday or possibly into Monday or Tuesday of the following week. It’s your agents job to get you over to see the home as soon as possible, hopefully prior to the weekend opens. This will give you enough time to setup a “Pre-Inspection”(should your interest warrant), prior to offer day. With the buyer’s market being so competitive at the moment, it’s often beneficial to have your inspection done prior to the day the home is setup to receive offers. This gives you the advantage of coming in without, “subject to inspection”. In this market this can often be one of the top contributors to being successful or not on offer day. Many agents are also suggesting to their clients get “pre-approved” for a mortgage right away. This will give you an idea where you stand and what price point is comfortable for you. In normal markets we had the luxury of making an offer, “subject to financing” and unfortunately with current market conditions it is extremely important to go through this process prior to making an offer. You have nothing to lose, but a lot to gain depending on how strong your pre-approval is. If you can get a letter of commitment from your bank, you are looking that much stronger on offer day. We have noticed a real increase in offers coming in “subject free”, so ultimately there financing is solid and secure and also they have taken the liberty of performing there inspection early for there will be no need for “subject to inspection” on offer day. They still have it done for their own piece of mind and to give them a good idea of what they are getting, yet they do not put it down as a subject. Having an experienced North Vancouver Realtor who has been through this process with their clients can really make all the difference between a successful offer or not. Jim Pilkington REALTOR with RE/MAX Crest Realty in North Van can help guide you with the process. Start by shooting Jim jimpilkington@shaw.ca an email and start receiving email alerts for new home listings that meet your criteria. You will receive an email notification the minute they hit the market. When/if you see something that looks like it could be the right fit for you, simply let Jim know you would like to setup a showing to see it and he will be happy to set that up for you.